Gently melt the butter in a small pan and leave it to settle. Slowly pour the clear yellow fat from the melted butter into a small bowl or jug, leaving the milky liquid in the pan. Discard the milky bit. Pull apart and shred the ham as finely as possible into stringy strips – use a knife to help if you need to.

Mix the ham with the parsley, spices, vinegar, two-thirds of the butter and a little crunchy sea salt. Divide between 8 small ramekins or pots. Press down and flatten the surface with your fingers, then spoon or pour over the remaining butter. Chill until butter is solid, then wrap in cling film. Will freeze for up to 3 months.

To serve, defrost the pots overnight in the fridge if frozen. Serve with toast, cornichons and chutney, or dip pots briefly in a bowl of hot water and turn the potted ham out onto plates first.

Score the pork belly skin diagonally in a diamond pattern at 1½ cm intervals. Season generously with salt and pepper, rubbing it well into the skin.

Put the fennel, bay leaves, garlic, cardamom, star anise and half the fennel seeds into a hot roasting tray on the hob with a little oil and heat for about 2 minutes until aromatic.

Push to the side of the tray, then add the pork, skin side down, and cook for at least 5 minutes until turning golden brown.

Turn the pork over, season the skin again with salt and sprinkle with the remaining fennel seeds. Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up the bits from the bottom (be careful not to get the skin of the pork wet). Bring to the boil, then pour in enough stock to come up to the layer of fat just below the skin and allow to boil again.

Transfer the tray to the preheated oven and cook for 2½ hours.

Transfer the meat to a warm plate and set aside to rest. Meanwhile, spoon off any excess fat in the roasting tray or drag a slice of bread along the surface of the cooking juices to absorb it. Heat the tray on the hob, adding the mustard. Mix in with a whisk, then taste and adjust the flavours as necessary. Remove the star anise and cardamom pods and pour the sauce into a jug. Serve the rested pork with the sauce alongside.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Tear out the stalks from the bay leaves, then bash the leaves in a pestle and mortar with a good pinch of salt to make a paste. Add the paprika and muddle in the oil. Score the pork all over in a criss-cross fashion with a clean Stanley knife at 1cm intervals, just going through the fat, not the meat. Rub with the bay oil, getting into all the scores. Peel and roughly chop the onions and sweet potato, peel and finely chop the garlic and halve the chillies, then place it all in a snug-fitting roasting tray or dish and sit the pork on top. Roast for 45 minutes.

Take the tray out of the oven and remove the pork to a plate momentarily. Stir the vinegar and passata into the tray, half fill the empty passata jar with water, swirl it around and pour into the tray, then sit the pork back on top. Reduce the oven temperature to 170°C/325°F/gas 3 and roast for a further 1½ hours. Twenty minutes before the end, remove the pork from the oven and skim the fat from the surface into a small bowl. Strip in the rosemary leaves (discarding the stalks), toss to coat, then sprinkle over the pork belly and place back in the oven for the remaining time, or until the pork is golden and tender and the sauce is reduced (loosen with a splash of extra water at the end, if needed).The crackling should have puffed up nicely, but, if it hasn’t (pork skin can sometimes be erratic), just pop it under a hot grill and watch it like a hawk until it’s perfect. Serve in the middle of the table with your chosen sides (see below), and tuck in.

Doesn’t really taste like piri piri and before you say that I have not tasted real piri piri before (i.e. I have only tasted Nandos piri piri), I have been to Lisbon and I have had authentic chicken with piri piri (Bon Jardim). In any case, I used 600 g of pork belly with 30 minutes at 200 degrees and 50 minutes at 170 degrees. I then grilled the skin for 20 minutes constantly repositioning the tray to try and get the entire pork skin crispy. I would say around 80% was crispy.

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a 8-inch non-stick frying pan and fry the sausage until golden brown and cooked through. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Add a further 2 tbsp oil to the pan and fry the potatoes and onions for 2-3 minutes, turning frequently (the pan will be very full).

Cover tightly and cook over a gentle heat for about 30 minutes turning occasionally, until softened and slightly golden.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, parsley, cheese, sausage and plenty seasoning. Gently stir in the potatoes and onions until coated, taking care not to break up the potato too much.

Wipe out the pan with kitchen paper and heat the remaining 2 tbsp oil.

Add the potato mixture and cook, over a very low heat, until the egg begins to set. Use a metal spatula to prevent the tortilla from sticking and allow the uncooked egg to run underneath.

Preheat the grill (broiler) to high. When the base of the tortilla has set, which should take about 5 minutes, protect the pan handle with foil and place the tortilla under the grill until it is set and golden.

Heat the oven to 200°C/ fan180°C/gas 6. Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil. Shred the kale (if necessary), then drop into the water with the gnocchi and cook for 30 seconds. Drain and rinse both under cold water.

Finely chop the onion. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan, then crumble in the meat from the sausages (discard the skins). Add the chopped onion and fry for 7 minutes or until just soft. Add the passata and basil leaves and simmer for 3 minutes.

Toss the kale and gnocchi through the sausage mixture, then transfer to a 1.5 litre ovenproof dish.

Tear over the cheese and season with salt and pepper, then bake for 15 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

I find now that mild-cure gammon doesn’t need soaking, but if you know that you’re dealing with a salty piece, then put it in a pan covered with cold water, bring to the boil, then tip into a colander in the sink and start from here; otherwise, put the gammon in a pan, skin-side down if it fits like that, add the onion, then pour over the Coke. Bring to the boil, reduce to a good simmer, put the lid on, though not tightly, and cook for just under 2½ hours. If your joint is larger or smaller, work out timing by reckoning on an hour per kilo, remembering that it’s going to get a quick blast in the oven later. But do take into account that if the gammon’s been in the fridge right up to the moment you cook it, you will have to give it a good 15 minutes or so extra so that the interior is properly cooked.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 240°C/gas mark 9/450ºF.

When the ham’s had its time (and ham it is, now it’s cooked, though it’s true Americans call it ham from its uncooked state) take it out of the pan and let cool a little for ease of handling. (Indeed, you can let it cool completely then finish off the cooking at some later stage if you want.) Then remove the skin, leaving a thin layer of fat. Score the fat with a sharp knife to make fairly large diamond shapes, and stud each diamond with a clove. Then carefully spread the treacle over the bark-budded skin, taking care not to dislodge the cloves. Gently pat the mustard and sugar onto the sticky fat. Cook in a foil-lined roasting tin for approximately 10 minutes or until the glaze is burnished and bubbly.Should you want to do the braising stage in advance and then let the ham cool, clove and glaze it and give it 30-40 minutes, from room temperature, at 180°C/gas mark 4/350ºF, turning up the heat towards the end if you think it needs it.

For the pork belly, mix the salt, lemongrass, spices, garlic, ginger and red chillies together in a small bowl, then rub the marinade into the flesh side of the pork belly.Cover with cling film and marinate for at least two hours, or up to 12 hours, in the fridge.

To cook the pork belly in a conventional oven, preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2. Place the pork belly skin-side up in a large ovenproof roasting dish. Add 200ml/7fl oz of water and place over a high heat on the hob until the water boils. Cover with a lid or foil and place in the oven for 2½ hours.

Remove from the oven and check that the meat is cooked – if you are able to push the handle of a tablespoon through the belly, it is done. Alternatively, use a meat thermometer – the inside of the meat should have reached about 85C/185F. Strain the cooking liquor through a fine sieve and set aside. Allow the meat to cool, then press between two baking trays with a weight on top to flatten the skin and place in the fridge to chill for 1-2 hours.

To finish the pork, heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

Heat the rapeseed oil in an ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat and gently cook the pork, skin-side down for 10-15 minutes to crisp the skin, then transfer to the oven for 10 minutes to warm through.

Meanwhile, place the strained cooking liquor in a small saucepan with 200ml/7fl oz water and bring to the boil.Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and a little soy sauce and sesame oil.

Meanwhile, for the cabbage, place the cabbage with the butter, three tablespoons water, salt and pepper into a large lidded saucepan.Cover with a lid and cook over a medium heat for 5-7 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender.Strain off any excess liquid and set aside with the lid on to keep warm.

Serve the pork sitting on a bed of cabbage with the hot cooking juices poured over, or put the whole belly, the cabbage and the juices in the roasting pot and place in the middle of the table for guests to help themselves.

Fry salt, sichuan pepper and five spice without oil at low heat for a few minutes.

Put the pork belly on a chopping board and score the fat in a criss cross manner. Rub the meat all over with oil, then rub the marinate into the meat. Cover the pork up and put it to one side in a roasting tray (preferably, kept in the fridge for a day)

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Put the pork in the oven and roast for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 160 degrees and roast for 1 hour. Bast the pork with the red wine vinegar and continue roasting for 20 minutes at 220 degrees or until the skin is nice and crispy.

Serve with a dollop of dijon mustard

Well the cooking method is exactly the same as Jamie Oliver’s Italian Roast Pork, the difference is in the seasoning.
It’s good that pork belly isn’t readily accessible in London or else it may be a frequent item on my table which is not exactly that beneficial for my health…

While the oven is preheating, score the skin of the pork. It will be scored already, but it’s always best to add a few more lines. To do this you can use the point of a very sharp paring knife, or Stanley knife, or you can now even buy a special scalpel from a good quality kitchen shop! What you need to do is score the skin all over into thin strips, bringing the blade of the knife about halfway through the fat beneath the skin.

Now place the pork in a tin, skin-side up, halve the onion and wedge the two pieces in slightly underneath the meat. Now take about 1 tbsp of crushed salt crystals and sprinkle it evenly over the skin, pressing it in as much as you can.

Place the pork on a high shelf in the oven and roast it for 25 minutes. Turn the heat down to 190C/375F/Gas 5, and calculate the total cooking time allowing 35 minutes to the pound, then deduct the initial 25 minutes cooking time. In this case it would be a further 2½ hours.
There’s no need to baste pork as there is enough fat to keep the meat moist. The way to tell if the meat is cooked is to insert a skewer in the thickest part and the juices that run out should be absolutely clear without any trace of pinkness.

When the pork is cooked remove it from the oven and give it at least 30 minutes resting time before carving. While that is happening, tilt the tin and spoon all the fat off, leaving only the juces. The onion will probably be black and charred, which gives the gravy a lovely rich colour. Leave the onion in, then place the roasting tin over direct heat, turned to low, sprinkle in the flour and quickly work it into the juices with a wooden spoon.

Now turn the heat up to medium and gradually add the cider and the stock, this time using a balloon whisk until it comes up to simmering point and you have a smooth rich gravy. Taste and season with salt and pepper, then discard the onion and pour the gravy into a warmed serving jug.